Ryndam Alaska Sept 2005 Review

[2Xayear]

Our first trip aboard the Ryndam and our third to Alaska....

 

Previous Alaska trips were in May so it was a different perspective seeing Alaska in September. Seemed strange not seeing snow along the shore as we cruised Glacier Bay. Not a negative let me assure you and September allows for a vsiti to the John Hopkins Glacier...an awesome sight! Harbour seals giving birth, closes this area for May June and July so this was my first visit. REALLY enjoyed this "new" area. Spent almost 6 hours on deck taking photos!! Lots of Harbor seals sleeping on the ice. I will say this trip had the least calving activity of all trips.

 

Don't mean for this to become a travelogue so here's our ship/trip comments.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. We arrived in Vancouver from Victoria by bus. Dropped our bags on the bus in Victoria and didn't see them again until mthey arrived in our stateroom. Luggage was actually waiting in our room when we went aboard about 2:00.

 

The Ryndam is certainly a smaller ship that the Volendam and Zaandam. Most noticable at the bow and stern, promenade deck. Lido and aft pool area seem smaller too. We missed the more spacious outer deck for our daily "walkabouts" but when one cruises, small sacrifices must be made right? :p

 

This was a rougher northbound inside passage transit than we have had before. Maybe made slightly worse by the smaller ship? Not sure but we have never had a problem with sea sickness so it wasn't really an issue for us. Several complained but that's normal too. Met some cruisers from another ship while in Juneau. They took the outside passage in a very much larger ship. Weather became VERY rough and they cancelled a port stop in Skagway because of it.

 

Season-ending sales in Juneau shops were very evident. Up to 70% off and people were taking full advantage of the deals. A shopping frenzy in Juneau, slightly less so in Skagway and very much less so in Ketchikan.

 

Enjoyed Juneau....had wanted to do a bear watching trip on this cruise but was advised I was too late in the season. Walked down to the Mt. Roberts Tram and went up for a few photos before the weather really socked in. A quick Dance Hall Lager in the Red Dog and back onboard.

 

Skagway is my favorite port for Alaska. Took the WP&YR to the summit then rode mountain bikes back down the hill (via the highway...not cross country!) to port. My second time doing this tour and very enjoyable. Had planned to rent the bikes for a trip to Dyea on our own but decided to head back to the ship because it had been 4 hours or so without food! ;) One can only go so long right!! My wife and family had a Pilot's Choice helicoptor tour booked for after lunch so I went over with them for departure photos. Let me say they were VERY imprressed with this trip and all said it was THE highlight of their Alaska cruise experience.

 

Ketchikan was a nice stop. Walked up Creek Street for the first time. Salmon spawning in the creek right in-town!! Watched a couple of seals feeding on fish just upstream. They had eaten so much fish they could only make a half hearted attempt to eat more. The salmon didn't know that and expended a lot of energy to avoid these two seals. Quite a sight.

 

In spite of it's smaller size, we really like the Ryndam. The Explorations Cafe is very good. I really enjoy a good cup of coffee. Prefer the "no-pay" version from the Java Cafe but this improvement on HAL is a good one. My only complaint? Open it up at 6:00 for the early risers. It has to be a money maker for HAL and the coffee was much better than the Lido. Early risers would certainly utilize this!!

 

Rooms were not much different than previous ships. We prefer an outside, lower promenade so we can walk out of our room, turn the corner and be on deck. New beds and linens are very nice. We own a bed and bath store so have come to appreciate nice linens. Really the only room issue was the bathrooms lack a medicine cabinet or shelf below the vanity. Found it a little tight for storage but again...cruisers must sacrifice a few things. ;)

Cabin steward was efficient as always. Only one towel animal the whole trip!! :(

 

The Asst Executive Chef was always present at the Lido, early every morning. Was always chatting and greeeting guests. Really nice to see a smiling face early in the morning. His attitude and demeaner was wearing off on the crew and they all seemed happier and more boisterious than previous trips.

 

Dining room food was as good as always. Service seemed slightly more rushed than normal but not really an issue. Glad to see that HAL has dropped the "running of the moose". Always seemed a little demeaning to the staff in my opinion.

 

Daily program invited us to the Crowsnest for their fabulous assortment of martinis. Arrived only to find there wasn't even a menu of martinis. Waiter started to list them but too confusing. If you have 32 different kinds of martinis then let guest read about them. Would probably help sales too!!

 

Cruise Directer is quite young on this ship but seemed very capable. The least amount of PS interuptions than ANY previous HAL trip. Most welcome I might add. I really get fed up with the constant invites to Bingo, Art Auctions etc. A pleasant change but I missed the annoucements about port departure times and the like. One almost had to ask to confirm all aboard time. They weren't posted at the gangway and PS announcements if they were made, were not audible in your room. Again....just a small thing.

 

The most memorable cruise moment? One afternoon, the ship suddenly kisted VERY hard to one side. So much so, the lido pool had water pouring out of it and across the deck. The ship quickly righted itself and then then leaned over the other side. Again water poured from the pool. The table setup with bear and soda emptied and we had can sliding across the deck, some opening on impact...bear and soda spraying everywhere. It was a truely a sight!! The shipped again right itself. The captai announced a few minutes later that we had experienced a "rudder malfunction" but that the ships safety was never in jeopardy. A very disconcerting experience for many. My sister-in-law was visibly shaking a half hour later. Ordered a drink and threatened to "charge it to the Captain".

 

Disembarkation itself was smooth but the cruise ship terminal seemed to be ill-prepared for four ships disembarking at the same time. When asked if it was a surprise that 4 would be there at the same time, no one had answers. Getting from the terminal to airports, buses or cars was chaotic to say the least.

 

All told....another great cruise. Had a good time and ate too much but we will do it again in a heartbeat. The week prior to departure we planned a Panama Canal trip for next April. Wanted to see the Ryndam before possibly booking her again for the 21 day April trip. Decided we want a slightly larger ship for this longer cruise so we have booked the Zuiderdam for April 22 instead.

 

Thanks for reading.....

[RuthC]

Thank you for the report---I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I'm returning to Alaska (finally!) next summer. As if the anticipation wasn't already strong---your report has only served to make me anxious to get there. :)

 

(The Zuiderdam "slightly" larger?:eek: )

[cdkempton]

Thank you for the review. Glad you had a great time. We love the Ryndam and did a 36 day on her and it was wonderful. We're going back after 4 years for a 10 day this time. (wish it could be longer :() But any cruise is a good cruise. :D San "hello" to Victoria for us. My DH was born there and we lived there for quite a while. Beautiful!

[2Xayear]

RuthC

 

I didn't mean to imply the Zuiderdam was only "slightly larger" than the Ryndam but rather was comparing in my mind, to the Zaandam and Volendam from previous cruises. :o

 

Now that leads me to another question....I saw in Tortola this spring, what I remember as being the Westerdam. (I could be wrong on the name but I am pretty sure) When pulling into port it looked to be only slightly larger than our Volendam but once alongside, I remember now, it being quite a bit bigger.

 

So is the Zuiderdam a sister ship to the Westerdam?

[TidePrideGA]

Yes, the Zuiderdam, Westerdam, Oosterdam and Noordam are all sister ships in the Vista class.

[RuthC]

Yes, the Zuiderdam, Westerdam, Oosterdam and Noordam are all sister ships in the Vista class.

And they're huge! (IMHO):D

[2Xayear]

So the Volendam and Zaandam are NOT Vista class ships? I didn't know that.

[RuthC]

Vista-class: Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam (2/06). (sisters). Huge.

 

R-class: Rotterdam, Amsterdam (near-sisters), Zaandam, Volendam (sisters). Large.

S-class: Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam (sisters). Medium.

Class by itself: Prinsendam. Small.

[sail7seas]

One almost had to ask to confirm all aboard time. They weren't posted at the gangway and PS announcements if they were made, were not audible in your room. Again....just a small thing.[/Quote]

 

 

On all of the ships (other than Vista Class), if you leave your cabin radio on, you will hear all shipboard announcements in your cabin. I think it's channel five they use. It is silent at all times other than when being used for announcements. I cannot imagine why they did not include this feature on the Vista Ships. Big mistake IMO

 

 

Thanks so much for your excellent review. I enjoyed reading it.